Morality
by Sandstorm Inkwell
Summary: Morality. It dictates a lot of what one might do. When his morality brings the Lone Wanderer to Evergreen Mills, he is dragged into a battle that almost destroys him. However, at the end, he is rewarded with praise from the slaves he freed. When they ask to travel with him, he thinks little of it. Could this be, though, the beginning of someting bigger? OneShot.


War.

One word. Three letters. Yet, it meant more than most words in the English language. Death. Destruction. Production. Soldiers. Guns. One could go on for days naming off everything that had to do with war. Even the aftermath of wars had a certain effect on humanity. Returning fighters would bed with a woman, most likely unprotected, and a baby boom would occur.

However, there would be no baby boom in the Wasteland for this war was everlasting. War in the wasteland brought even more words to describe the word. Loot. Slaves. Super Mutants. Caps. Salvage. No one fought in the wasteland unless there was some motive to fight. Sometimes it was plain survival while other times it was to get caps and salvage to sell. For the immoral, one might fight to rape, steal, or for the pleasure of killing. For the moral, one might fight to protect their fellow man and help them.

That was why I found myself scaling the side of a cliff with a Sniper Rifle slung across my back and a SMG strapped to my thigh. I had traded out my Power Armor for Combat Armor when I was told about the hole that my target was settled in. The lighter armor made climbing down the cliff a lot easier. Of course, as I was doing a lot now, it was modified. The right pauldron was missing, now being used as a kneepad, while the left pauldron had a nice coat of red paint over it. A red stripe ran over the top of my helmet as well. Some might say that I was trying to copy the Outcasts but I used it as an identifier for myself.

Slowly, I lowered a foot and lodged it in a crack in the rocks before lowering my body further, my hands finding cracks to grip onto. The darkness made this even harder, the moon my only source of light as I slowly worked myself down. I lowered my other foot and felt around for a place to set it. I found a small ledge and placed my foot atop it. Taking my right leg out of the crack, I began to move it down.

Crack!

The ledge gave way and I found myself dangling against the rock face as the chunk of rock went tumbling down. Scrambling, I found foot rests before leaning my forehead against the rock.

"Please don't notice. Please don't notice," I muttered under my breath, waiting for a bullet to dig into my back. Luck must have been with me as nothing happened. Sighing, I continued to descend, more cautious now, testing the ledges and cracks before applying my full weight.

It took a couple of minutes before I was on dirt again. It was still raised up from the quarry that housed my target but it was low and close enough for sniping effectively. Pulling off my rifle, I moved to a collection of rocks near the edge and set the barrel atop the rocks. With one hand holding up the gun, I used my other hand to move my goggles from over my eyes to above the brim of my helmet. I also scratched at the cloth covering the lower half of my face. It was itchy but I would rather be itchy than be eating sand from the sandstorms. Finally, I looked down my scope.

Evergreen Mills. Home to a shit ton of Raiders. When I first learned of this place, I had decided to avoid it until I had help. That was before I had learned that they kept slaves. Getting them out was now my objective. Now, I wasn't stupid. If it looked like I was outmatched then I'd wish for them to be shown mercy and withdraw.

Looking through my scope, I saw that was at the opposite end from the slave pens. That was when the enclosure in the middle sparked. Looking at it, I gasped in shock. _They caged a Behemoth? _Inside the enclosure was an unarmed and unarmored Super Mutant Behemoth. It stood about three stories tall and, even with no armor and weapons, was still a forced to be reckoned with.

Noticing the generator, barely lit by the moon, I smirked. _Idiots. _Lining up my crosshairs on the generator, I slowed my breathing, the crosshairs steadying. Slowly, I applied pressure to the trigger. Jerking it would cause the shot to go awry. So, I slowly squeezed it. With a _CRACK! _the rifle fired, causing me to blink in mild surprise. Not a second later, the generator exploded in spectacular display of sparks. Noticing the lack of sparks, the Behemoth smashed through the gate and began doing what Behemoths did best. Rampage.

A Raider, who was standing at the gate **taunting**the beast, was flung to her back from the gates exploding outward. She was still alive though... until the giant orange foot crushed her. Yelling now dominated the crater as the Raiders reacted to the freed beast. They came from **everywhere**. From the main building, to the canyon entrance, to a shack, to an outhouse, Raiders emerged, guns in hand. They all opened fire on the large beast but it did little more than piss it off. Charging, the Behemoth kicked one Raider, her body crunching against a train car. Stomping another Raider, the Behemoth picked up a third, turned, and **threw **the man at a group of Raiders near the main building.

I noticed this only through the corner of my scope however as my rifle sounded off with a _CRACK! _again and again and again. Reloading when I had to, I picked off the Raiders, trying to thin them out some as the sun slowly crested over the horizon to shed light on the bedlam. One Raider spotted my rifle flashes, pointing me out and shouting,

"Sni-"

She was cut off by a .308 round entering her eye, the back of her head exploding outward to decorate one of her comrade's chest. The man hesitated for a second. That hesitation cost him as a round dug through his chest, this one also taking a chunk out of the leg of the Raider beside him. That Raider's screaming was ended not by my rifle but by a giant orange fist pounding the man into the dirt.

The Behemoth reared up and roared, bleeding from multiple holes in it's body. As it readied for another charge, a round must have found the glory spot as the beast suddenly collapsed with a dying gurgle and a flailing of limbs. The collapse caused a small shockwave.

Of course, with that threat dead, all attention turned to me, the sniper. Rounds started peppering the cliff face, the rocks, and zinged by my head. Even with the fire, I continued to pick off Raider after Raider. That was until I saw a gust of smoke and a flash of a missile being fired.

"Shit!" I cursed, standing up and dashing to the left. The missile exploded against my cover, sending bits of rock pelting my unarmored parts. Rounds pelted all around me as I ran. Seeing a drop that wasn't too tall, I veered and jumped. As I fell, I round hit my left pauldron and sent me spinning. Hitting the ground, I used the spin to roll to the side.

Coming to a kneel, I raised my rifle, found a target, and fired once... twice... _click!_

"Double shit!"

Tossing the rifle to the ground, I pushed myself into a roll. Coming to my feet from the roll, I drew my SMG and began spraying at the closest targets. Drawing my knife with my left hand, I flung it at a Raider, the tip burying in his chest. Darting from cover to cover and keeping the fighting as close as possible kept most shots from hitting me. I felt the bites of some but, luckily, it hit my armored portions.

Reloading, I swung around and-

a sledgehammer knocked the weapon from my hand, breaking a few fingers in the process.

"Fuck!" I shouted as I looked up at the gargantuan Raider. He was two head taller than me and had way more muscle mass, his arms looking like tree trunks. The brute lifted the hammer for a downward attack. Jumping back, I watched the hammer hit the ground. Moving quickly, I stepped on the head, the shaft, and then kicked the Raider in the face, jumping away from him.

Landing, I was greeted with the revving of a small engine. Turning, I barely avoided a Ripper carving into my unarmored shoulder. Instead, it barely missed my face and struck my armored chest. Growling, the Raider lifted the weapon for another go. Grabbing his wrist with my right hand, I stepped aside and lashed out with my left palm to break his arm. Screaming in pain, the man dropped the Ripper. Letting go of his arm, I swiped up the weapon, depressed the lever and applied the miniature chainsaw to the guy's throat. Blood and chunks of meat went flying as the weapon carved into the meat. When it hit bone, I yanked the weapon out.

"**DIE!**"

Rolling aside, I heard bones crunch as the brute's sledgehammer made contact with the dead Raider. Turning, I charged in. Jumping to avoid a swipe of the hammer, I landed on the man's chest. Wrapping an arm around his neck, I plunged the nasty weapon into his face. The blood splattered all over me as the man screamed in pain, dropping his sledgehammer to peel me off.

When he tossed me off, I hit the ground and slid to a stop. Looking at the large man, I saw him feel the wound, still howling in pain. Fishing in his pouches, he pulled out two drugs, Jet and Psycho. Stabbing the Psycho into his arm, he sighed while inhaling the Jet. His remaining pupil became a pinprick as the drugs took effect.

His eye then focused on me. With a roar, the large man charged me barehanded. Revving the Ripper in anticipation, I waited. When he closed, I jumped to the side. At least, I would have if the man didn't grab my legs with scary speed and send me flying into a train car. My head hit the metal and I was suddenly glad of the helmet as pain flared.

Dropping to the ground, I looked up to see that he was already on top of me. Grabbing me, he lifted me up against the train car and started hammering my gut with his fist. After a couple blows, I knew I wouldn't last long against this kind of onslaught. Kicking out, I felt my shin connect with something soft. The man's voice suddenly got high pitch as he screamed, letting go of me.

Falling to the ground, I lashed out with the Ripper and cut the man's thigh. The pain and lack of stable support brought him to a sort of crouch. I took this to my advantage as I rammed the Ripper against his skull.

"Fucking die!" I shouted as the weapon tore apart skin and bone. Finally, his partially scrambled brain registered that he was, in fact, dead. He gave a final twitch as I let go of the Ripper. He swayed for about a second before he fell backwards, blood pooling out of the two wounds in his head.

Looking around, I expected more Raiders to charge at me. Instead, I was met with only corpses. Deciding to loot the bodies later, I turned and limped to the slave pens. The slaves inside were looking at me in a mixture of fear and hope, mostly fear. I couldn't blame them as I was sure I was covered in blood and probably looked like hell.

"Hi," I said, "I'm here to save y'all."

There was no answer. That was fine with me. By the way, have I mentioned that picking a lock with broken fingers was damned **painful! **After taking longer than it would have if I was uninjured, the locks of both pens had been removed and the gates opened. Timidly, the slaves stepped out of the cages and looked around. Luckily, they didn't have an exploding collars on.

"Take what ya need, the entrance should be clear but check for traps and mines, alright?"

One of the men nodded before the two men took off to loot some of the corpses. That was when I noticed the woman and the bulge under her clothes. I ground my teeth as I looked back at the Raider corpses. _Bastards._

Looking back, I saw that she was just a couple feet from me, looking at my hand with a frown. She pointed at it. I cocked my head but held out my hand to her. With some prodding and the turning of my hand, she examined it. She looked up at me.

"Do you have any Med-X and Stimpaks?" she asked in a soft voice. I nodded before reaching around with my good hand to the pouch at my lower back. Opening it, I dug in and felt around for the items she asked for. Finally grabbing one of each, I pulled them out and held the to her. She grabbed the Med-X, bit off the cap, and unceremoniously stabbed it into my arm. The pinch surprised me but soon the pain from all my injuries seemed to dull.

She flicked the empty syringe aside before grabbed the Stimpak and placing it sideways in her mouth. Using both hands, she forcefully pushed my fragmented bones back into place. The pain returned but it was bearable... barely. Finally, she grabbed the Stimpak and injected it into almost the same spot as the Med-X was injected. Almost instantaneously, I felt my hand and fingers begin to mend at a faster rate. It wasn't a hundred percent healed but it would last until I got to an actual doctor.

"Med-X," she ordered after flicking aside the empty 'pak. I fished out another and handed it to her, which she then pushed it my arm and pushed the plunger. Again, relief flooded through my system and, again, she flicked the empty syringe aside.

"Thank you," I said.

"No," she shook her head, "Thank _you_. For saving us."

She motioned her hand to something behind me. I turned to see the two men, now with guns and ammo, waiting patiently. I nodded to them.

"Alright, y'all go ahead and get while I scrounge up what I can," I said with a nod in the direction of the building. The bigger of the two shifted on his feet ever-so-slightly, glancing at his partner. I frowned underneath my mask. _Don't._

"We, uh, thought that maybe we could travel with you," he said, then shrugged, "since you saved our hides, I say we owe ya one."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Then, what he said hit me and I rubbed my neck awkwardly.

"Um..." I looked between the three of them before sighing, "Alright. Then you two," I pointed at the men, "help me loot those corpses of anything valuable. I also need to retrieve all my gear, then we'll be ready to go. Good?"

"Good," he echoed before he and his partner disappeared again to start the looting. I looked at the woman to see her smiling at me.

"Thank you," she said again before moving to the clasps between two train cars and sitting on it, rubbing her belly.I sighed softly as I moved to go collect my gear. I was used to traveling alone and I knew that this would take some adjusting to. However, as with everything else, I knew that I would.

When I saw the two men, a though entered my mind, _They need armor._


End file.
